Sleep isn’t the easiest thing to come by these days. There are often nights when you toss and turn for hours upon end, nights when you’re up late doing work, and days when it seems your bedtime is pushed back later and later. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 50 to 70 million Americans experience poor sleep at night. Nearly 30 percent of U.S. adults reported an average of less than six hours of sleep per day between 2005 and 2007. The National Sleep Foundation suggested that adults need to get an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.

Getting the proper amount of sleep is imperative for your health. Sleep has an effect on learning and memory. It helps the mind commit new information through a process called memory and consolidation. Therefore, if you have a test to take, it’s best to get to sleep rather than pulling an all-nighter. Metabolism is also impacted by a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep affects the way your body processes and stores carbohydrates and alters levels of hormones that affect the appetite. Sleep loss can also lead to irritability and an inability to concentrate during the day, and may even be an immunity booster, helping your body to stay healthy. Believe it or not, decreased amounts of sleep have been linked to poor heart health. How’s that for a reason to get some shut-eye? However, it’s understood that it’s simply difficult for some to fall asleep at night. Here are some bedtime behaviors that may make it a bit easier to catch some z’s and all the benefits that come with a proper amount of sleep:

Turn down the lights
Your environment has a significant impact on the quality of your sleep. If a room is too hot or too cold, too noisy or too bright, your sleep can be affected. When bedtime begins to roll around, your body releases melatonin, which helps to make you sleepy. But if you’re in a brightly lit room, your head isn’t getting the right hints to hit the hay. Therefore, start to dim the lights around nine or 10 to get your mind ready for sleep.

Take a sleep aidNaturade SlumberAid is a natural solution to help you not only fall asleep, but to stay asleep and wake up feeling rested and energized. This sleep aid is packed with a full range of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium and melatonin, you helping you get on your way to a more peaceful night’s sleep.

Have a bedtime routine
By establishing a nightly routine, your brain will recognize that it’s time to go to bed and shift to that mindset. Whether it’s laying out your clothes for the next day, reading a book, brushing your hair or writing, these are habits that may help you sleep at night.

Skip the coffee after noon
You’d be surprised as to how long that cup of joe can stay in your system. It reaches a peak level in your blood within 30 to 60 minutes of drinking it and the effects can last from eight to 14 hours. Therefore, you should think twice before grabbing that second or third cup of coffee at lunchtime. Instead, try other ways to naturally boost your energy throughout the day, such as exercising, laughing, splashing cold water on your face or cranking up the air conditioning.